Tuesday, 31 March 2015

With the Easter
Break looming, the clocks now back on British Summer Time and the first
glimpses of new growth on the trees and plants, I certainly have started
looking forward to warmer weather, longer days and sun …

But this is because
we are coming out of winter. The seasons tick off their timing, winter to
spring, spring to summer, summer to autumn and then back to winter's icy grip.
The revolving door of time, the ever changing, yet unchanging characteristic of
nature, the reassurance of the changing seasons. The seasons change, but we are
reassured by their predictability.

What about real
changes? Changes that make a difference and cannot be reversed? Growing up is
one such change, for example. As I have said before, we start off life as a
completely helpless babe, entirely dependent on others for everything and as we
grow, we start to be able to make choices, take control of things. And it's
then that we discover that being in control is hard. We don’t always get what
we want, when we want it, so we learn to hate change. Change becomes a signal
for unpleasantness, for more difficult things.

But we have to fight
that; change is the very essence of the universe, at the very centre of
everything and is impossible to fight. If we waste time energy & effort in
holding back change, we are wasting opportunities and chances that pass us by.
Like King Canute, trying to hold back change will only result in futility as
profound as trying to hold back the tide.

(Historical aside:
King Canute was a king who reigned over 1,000 years ago - a Viking king, who
controlled what is now modern day Denmark, Norway & England - one of the
most powerful people in the world. He was thought to be a good king, with great
power, but even he could not control the changing nature of time, as
demonstrated in his attempting to stop the tide from coming in…)

Change is,
paradoxically, unchanging. There will always be change, whether it's global
warming, the next version of Windows, or new houses growing up where there were
once fields. Change, the only reliable, unchanging fact of living.

So how do we respond
to change? As I said, we naturally learn to fear it, to see it as something to
dread. But if we change our mindset, look ahead and seek out the opportunities
the change brings, we can make so much more of what the future delivers us.

As a school, we are
growing, changing, rapidly. That is what we have to do; moving from the
temporaries, into this amazing building, was a huge change. And it was not
simply looked forward to; some were worried about the space, having got used to
the smallness of the old buildings, for example, and feared losing their way,
or being caught somewhere they shouldn't be when we moved. And the new students
& staff. But such is the way of things and we all adapted and now feel like
this building is home, is our 'normality'. So we are now planning to grow
again; we have over 100 new students joining us this coming September, and
after Easter, we will start the process of getting to know them, so they feel
part of our family before they even arrive. It will have a lovely new feel to
the school, with almost 300 students in the corridors and classrooms! New
friends and new opportunities.

As you know, we have
also, last week, started to recruit all the new staff who will be joining us to
help you all on your journey. We have, to date, had over 150 applications for 9
posts. Last week, we interviewed 23 people, putting them through a rigorous
process to make sure we recruited only the best to join us in our growth.

(I am not arrogant
enough to think that everyone who applied for a job here will read this, but if
any are, I would like to thank them for taking the time to apply; it is not an
easy task to find the time to complete an application form, think about the upheaval
that moving jobs will make, and apply, in the complete uncertainty of the
outcome. Everyone I met on interview was, in their own right, a truly unique
individual, and not once did I think I had chosen badly to shortlist. To the
successful candidates, I look forward to working with you as we continue to
grow and develop this amazing school & to the unsuccessful ones, I wish you
all the best in your own personal journeys - who knows; our paths may cross
again.)

The process
continues, as we recruit more staff this week & after Easter; in September,
we will have over 50 people working in the school, all committed and passionate
about helping everyone here be nothing but the best they can possibly be.

One of the questions
I posed to the candidates last week was 'What, actually, do teachers do?'. This
question was inspired, I must admit, by the great performance poet, Taylor Mali
- look him up; he's simply amazing!

A simple question,
with a hard answer, especially one that is short and to the point. But one
candidate hit the nail on the head, and that is why we appointed them. The
answer they gave was:

To be strong for the
students, especially when they can't be strong themselves.

That is, indeed,
what we are about!

We do have one major
change after Easter, one to do with technology. I have stated this time and
time again, and now we are getting there. After Easter, you will all be
required to have a device, whether a laptop, ipad, tablet, or whatever, in the
lesson. The teachers will not be able to provide you with one from a trolley.
There are 4 ways you can do this:

Bring in your own
device. This is by far the best option, in truth, as it's yours, then, and you
know how it works. Your parents will need to check their home insurance, but it
is usually possible to add this to most policies.

If you don’t have
one, then your parents can lease one through the school. ParentMail letters
went out a few weeks ago about this & for about £10 per month, you can have
a device to use, with insurance included & it is yours to keep.

Or your parents can
loan a device from the school. These cannot be taken home, however, but will be
yours, personally, for your use during the day.

Or, finally, you can
go to Mr Thow or Mr Connor and book out a device for use. This can only by at
the start of school, or during break or lunch, however, and will not be a
personal device - you will be given what is available.

But not having a
device will not be accepted and will be followed up with a consequence, the
same as if you had forgotten a pen or pencil. This technology is your future in
work & we are building systems to help you have that important edge when it
comes to it.

Monday, 16 March 2015

Now, I know that
there has been so much written about the topic of 'being yourself', so many
self-help books, and so many people offering to help you 'find yourself'. This
is a hot topic, one that many people keep away from. But it is important and
while I am sure that the vast majority of what I say will go in one ear and out
the other, I do ask that you listen today.

Over the last few
weeks, the newspaper I read has been launching a campaign called 'Time To
Mind', to try to make the government look at youth mental health and wellbeing
much more seriously than ever before. We all recognise that growing up is hard,
but it has become so 'true', so embedded in our culture, that as adults, we
tend to take the line that it was hard for us, so you just need to get on with
it and it will soon be all over - it all gets better when you're an adult.

The trouble is, this
is wrong on two counts. First of all, just because of the amount of money spent
on 'self-help', the number of books offering to solve all our problems, clearly
shows that, in fact, being an adult isn't the answer to any problems! If you
have not got yourself sorted as a teenager, you'll not be sorted as an adult,
either.

But more
importantly, things are, actually, harder for you than they were for us.
Growing up is hard. The pressures of finding out who you are, wrestling with
self-doubt, fighting to have an opinion, to be able to make decisions, are all
the same as when we were young. But society has changed. Things are harder. As
a generation, you are more aware of the need to achieve as an adult than ever
before - the infringement of media, television, music & movie stars all
make us aware that there is so much more for us to aspire to. The high profile
nature of exams, and the need to succeed, are much more to the front of
people's minds, and then there's the 24-7 nature of the internet, selfies,
online chat, body image and bullying make a toxic mix that can swamp anyone.

The thing is,
however, you can take control - you can do something about this. You are, in
fact, in control and can make decisions about your health.

I was reading an
article over the weekend about a woman who really got a bad deal online … she
was, as a teenager, just browsing through YouTube, as you do, and saw a link to
a video titled the ugliest woman in the world. Clicking on it, as you would, it
slowly dawned on her that the video was about herself! Now, I don't know about
you, but that would simply be devastating - I do not know how she did it, but
she took control, set up a website and YouTube channel to let people know who
the ugliest woman in the world was & it now has almost a quarter of a
million followers & has given talks around the world on how to stand up for
yourself, how to define yourself, rather than being defined by others. Lizzie
Velasquez is her name - look her up.

And that is the
point. As a school, we hold Healthy School status, and this is in recognition
of the fact that we care about your health. And want you to have the facts and
skills to do something about your health. And health is not just about eating
the right things and taking exercise. Yes, these are important, but doing
something positive to make your mind healthy is actually more important than
anything. How you are feeling, what you are thinking, has such a powerful
control of your body! There are studies after studies that show clearly that
positive thinking, a healthy mind, has huge impact on everything else. At the
most extreme, a survey of the mental state of cancer patients shows that, to
put it simply, the patients with a positive self-image, a positive mental
outlook and a clear determined mind, knowing that they are in control were more
likely to survive treatment, and go on to live better lives, than those with
negative outlooks.

But what does that
mean to us? Well, it is simple, and, in fact, links to my last assembly on
labels. First of all, you need to know, to understand, to believe that no-one
can hurt you, mentally, without you actually giving them permission to do so.
Yes, physically, someone can punch, kick or assault you. If they do, our policy
is simple - whoever makes the first physical assault, whatever the grounds, is
issued with a minimum of a one-day external exclusion. There is never a reason
to physically attack another person.

But mentally? That
is where you are in control. First of all, you can choose to take yourself away
from the situation, to put a distance between you and them. Yes, with the
internet, this is harder, but almost all chat room / messenger technology
specifically allows you to block individuals.

Secondly, you can
report it and seek help. Yes, I know, you are all, almost without exception,
going to tell me that this never works, that all it does is bring on more, and
anyhow, it's grassing and you don't grass.

Well, let me tackle
all three of these areas:

It does work.
Simple. Here, we have a clear code of conduct that states that intimidation,
harassment or bullying are not tolerated. Any student who feels it is fine to
intimidate another, to call them names, to make their life horrible, is not
welcome here. There is a big 'but' here, however. You need to not retaliate. To
not let the words make you angry. Instead, report, report, report. The school
systems for you to report are simple - go online and fill out an incident
report and it will be dealt with.

Second; it will only
bring on more if you let it. As soon as you report it, someone will
investigate, will talk to people, will provide you with support. The people
picking on you will try to have a go at you, will try to stop you reporting it,
but only to save their own skin!

And this leads me to
the last; grassing. As a concept, I do understand it, I do get why it has
become accepted, but as a way to do things, it always strikes me as a really,
really stupid standpoint to take. Especially if you are a victim of harassment.
The only people who win if grassing stops people acting are the bullies, the
people making your lives miserable are being protected by your wrong impression
that it's a bad thing to tell.

If someone is
calling you fat, or stupid, or ugly; if they are spreading rumours about you,
or posting messages about you online, then we will act. Trying to put people
down in order to make yourself look better is the lowest, nastiest, worst
characteristic as person can have and there is no space for such people here.

So, take control,
don't let others control how you feel and look for the good things to focus on.
That way, you can be happy and achieve whatever you put your mind to.

To finish, then, a
couple sections from two poems. The writers of the words are separated by over
150 years, but the message is the same from both people - take control of your
life, be in charge of who you are and don't let anyone else dictate to you who
you are.

First of all, a few
lines from a poem I've read before: If, Rudyard Kipling.

If you can keep your
head when all about you

Are losing theirs
and blaming it on you,

If you can trust
yourself when all men doubt you …

If you can bear to
hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to
make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things
you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build
them up with worn out tools …

And finally, I am
sure you will quickly work out who wrote these lines:

I stay out too late

Got nothing on my
brain,

That's what people
say.

But I keep cruising

Can't stop, won't
stop moving

It's like I got this
music

In my mind

Saying "It's
going to be all right."

Because the players
are going to play,

And the haters are
going to hate

Baby, I'm just going
to shake,

I shake it off.

And if you didn't
get it, that was Taylor Swift, "Shake it Off". . . (I bet you've never heard her quoted like that before...)

Monday, 2 March 2015

Labels are
everywhere and we use them all the time. They are used in so many ways that the
whole concept of labelling is embedded deep into our culture - you can't go
anywhere without seeing labels or being labelled.

And if we look way,
way back, it becomes clear why we label - as a species, when we came down from
the trees and started to explore the world around us, the bewildering array of
new and different things could well have ended our evolutionary progress before
we got very far indeed, as it so frequently has. The thing is, the world is
such a complex place, so full of new things, that our brains could easily
become overwhelmed by the variety. Or we could become so limited that our very
existence would be at risk. As an example of this, there is a species of bird
that will only eat a specific fruit from one type of tree. It doesn't matter
that there are other trees, or that there are other fruit that this bird could
eat, but no; they do not have the ability to look and compare and judge that
another fruit is, in effect, the same or similar to the one they eat. And as a
result, they are now at risk of extinction because the fruit from this one tree
is changing due to global warming and they are not recognising the new fruit as
something edible.

We must have, at
some point, evolved the ability to look at things and recognise similarities -
that fruit looks similar to this one, which I like, so I will probably like
that one too. . . And so we evolve.

It's also important
to be able to compare and contrast things so that we can spot things even if
they don’t look like we expect them to do so. If I'm hunting an elephant, for
example, I need to be able to find the elephant, even if it's partially hidden in
a bush; this can only happen because our brains can look at a bush with an
elephant hiding in it and spot the patterns that would indicate that there is
an elephant in there. If we didn’t have that compare and contrast ability, we
would not have seen the elephant, because we would only be looking for a whole
elephant, like the one we have a mental picture of in our heads.

But this essential
skill has evolved and become more complex as our world has become more complex
and has changed as our society has changed. We are, by nature, a cataloguing,
list making, labelling animal because it is what got us where we are. The trouble
is, we can't stop labelling!

Labels can be useful
- the labels on medicine telling us not to take it, the labels (or signs)
warning us about danger, are all perfectly useful. Scientists who study
patterns, looking for new discoveries; the elusive cure for cancer, say, or the
solution to the world energy crisis will be found by labelling, cataloguing and
looking for those patterns…

And labelling
happens all the time in our day to day lives; in the supermarket, the food
labels helping us make healthy choices, labels that help us clean our clothes
effectively at the right temperature and in the right way. Labels can even be
pretty harmless; I am wearing labels; my watch, my suit, even my socks, are all
labelled, branded. So what? I can buy the most expensive item of clothing and
it could well have been made in a factory somewhere in the world right next to
a similar item being made for Primark - how do I know?

But this is where it
starts to go wrong, and labelling can be something harmful. I, personally, do
not think that I am any better than someone else, just because I am wearing an
Armani watch, but the wearing of specific labels can frequently be interpreted
in this way. It is why so many schools have very strict rules on clothing;
because there are some people who feel that by wearing a particular brand of
shoes, or trainers, that this makes them better, bigger than someone else. I do
not understand this logic at all, but it is there, in quite a significantly
childish way. And it is promoted by advertising and the media - the footballer
who promotes a particular brand, the supermodel who wears a particular perfume.
I am not naive enough to think that just because I might buy David Beckham's
latest clothing item that I will suddenly look like him … …

When we label to
discriminate, to separate and isolate, it becomes something wrong and harmful.
Our original evolutionary drive to compare was to help us see similarities, but
we far too frequently use this essential skill to separate and isolate. To label
myself a Manchester United fan, for example, would isolate myself from those of
you who follow other local teams. (This is why I am a Rugby Union fan &
refuse to be drawn into the tribal labelling that exists in football).

We are all labelled,
all the time. This is to understand how we are, how we behave, but if we lose
sight of the fact that we are all, in fact, individuals, with our own unique
set of strengths, weaknesses and priorities, then we see that labelling people
is pretty useless and frequently counterproductive.

That is why, here at
Sandymoor, we refuse to label people. We do not have sets, and you are not
taught in groups that label you. Instead, your teachers treat you all as
individuals, tailoring your experience to your needs.

That is why we hold
you, individually, to account here at Sandymoor. We do not label you and treat
you differently just because of who you are. Too many schools do that. The 'Oh,
that's so and so - they always behave like that' or the 'Don't try that - it'll
be too hard for you'. This is so important, because when people do limit us,
they put chains on our imagination that are hard to break. I remember to this
day a senior teacher at my school saying to my parents that there were limits
to my future - this person stated that sixth form would be of limited use to me
because I wasn't bright enough to go to university … and here I am, with three
degrees to my name … believe me when I tell you that I will never limit you, or
let anyone else limit you.

At Sandymoor, we
will never limit you or assume you have boundaries to your potential - instead,
we will always work with you to help you achieve what you desire. As I've said
many times before, the only limit to your future is your imagination. And some
hard work ,of course, but without imagination, without a goal to aspire to, all
the hard work in the world will get you nowhere.

Bullying,
intimidation, harassment - all the things we have a zero tolerance policy
towards - all start with making assumptions, labelling people, not looking at
the individual, but treating them like someone, something different. Bullying
starts with trying to limit the victim, let them feel that they are somehow
less, somehow deserving of it all. And we will not tolerate this in any area.

So, at Sandymoor,
no-one will ever say to you that you have limits on what you can achieve.
No-one will ever put you in a class and then put a limiting label on that
class. This is why we do not set, why we do not have a top, middle & bottom
group. No-one will ever say that you shouldn't try something because it's
beyond you or that you would never be able to understand. Instead, we promise
to work with you, alongside you, to help you achieve your dreams and
aspirations. Dare to dream, dare to aspire and we will support you all the way.